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The House of the Rising Sun
A Brief History Little is known commonly known about the plantation home off of Old Spanish Trail road in Slidell just off of the I-10 bridge. Attempts by mortal historians to delve into the home's past have met with conflicting or incomplete accounts. The Enlightened tell different stories. Near the turn of the last century, the House was alleged to have become home to a cabal of Nephandi who were defeated by the infamous Hermetic master, Jeremiah Paendrag. After expelling the dark Magi from the home, Paendrag was said to have taken up residence there where he committed himself to the task of expelling their taint from the Node upon which the house was built. He continued to use the home as a base of operations for nearly a century prior to the arrival of the notorious Cultist of Ecstasy, Paul Rhode, in the late 90's. How the exchange between the two masters took place, and exactly what was traded to who remains unclear; the only certainty is that following a scuffle with an offshoot cabal of his Nephandic nemesis, Paendrag had disappeared, and Paul named himself responsible for care of the proper ty. Under Paul's supervision the house expanded from a Hermetic's quiet lakeside retreat to a thriving chantry built hidden within a burlesque club. While the preferred M.O. for most Magi is to live a concealed, careful, life, Paul's later years were marked by an outward flamboyance that many consider to be the prelude to the Master's downfall. A former ACLU lawyer and social activist, Paul never shied from bribery and blackmail of local officials to promote the goals of the Cult; New Orleans had always served as a sort of Mecca for the Cult, and Paul was a driving force behind maintaining the wild and unabashed flavor of the city. The night that Hurricane Katrina made landfall, the Chantry was subject to a full assault from the Technocracy. Though accounts vary, it is said with near certainty that is the night that Paul Rhode met his end while the remainder of the Chantry fled and mingled with the scores of refugees escaping the destruction of the city. In the nights that followed, Technocratic operations claimed the lives of some of his most loyal retainers, and spread the survivors across the American South. The empty house languished without a caretaker, and fell into a disheveled ruin over the course of the next ten years. A Conspicuous Return 2014 saw the sudden and almost inexplicable return of the Chantry house under unlikely new management. Paul's son, a reputed waste of Enlightenment named Jason, appeared on the scene in New Olreans in late 2013, immediately after he'd been kicked out of yet another Cabal and Chantry. It remains unclear just how the notoriously non-driven, unmotivated Magus managed to scrape together enough resources for such an operation, but word quickly hit the streets amongst the Traditions that the Rising Sun cabal was being re-founded, and that Jason was welcoming newcomers into his father's former home. Rumors persist of mysterious backers and shady deals brokered to restore the Chantry, none of which have been confirmed. The restored House of the Rising Sun is somewhat less conspicuous than its previous incarnation. Instead of a thriving underground scene, the House boasts a modest parlor where many of the city's elite gather to misbehave away from the crowded streets and the possibility of news crews. Through the Looking Glass The House sports many of the amenities you'd expect from such a location. There is a staffed kitchen, multiple bars, and dozens of large bedrooms with lavish furnishings which are occasionally provided to guests of the club. The closet under the grand staircase, however, is a gateway to the Chantry itself. An ancient stone plate with Enochian sigils etched into it serves as a permanent gateway from the portion of the house that exists in reality to a pocket realm in the Umbra where a copy of the building on Earth exists on an unusual, surreal plane. The Magi residing at the Chantry live here, and in lieu of bars and socialites, there are warded sanctums and laboratories. Outside the home the swamp takes on unearthly, weird, characteristics, and is more likely to be home to the denizens of the Umbra than snakes and alligators. Much of what was known of the realm was lost when the old masters perished, and the new denizens look upon it with a mix of adventure and caution. Here the Magi can interface with the Node; a worn, slightly molded old fountain topped with an image of Apollo gathers a thin sheen of Tass that Magi skim from the murky water. How and why the realm survived the Technocratic occupation of its earthly companion is a subject of continued curiosity and debate.